Editor's note: This is an opinion column written by one of the Democratic candidates for president of the United States. The Reno Gazette Journal accepts columns from major candidates across the political spectrum, whether left or right, as a way to help inform the voting public.

In the middle of the 2008 housing crisis, I traveled to Nevada to hear from people who had lost their homes. One of the people who spoke that day was Mr. Estrada. He and his wife both worked, and they had stretched their budget to get their two girls into a good school and buy a home. Their home meant everything to them — it was right across the street from the school so they could see their girls playing outside when they opened their garage door.

But when the payments on their mortgage jumped, they fell behind. Mr. Estrada tried to negotiate with the bank, but then suddenly the bank sold his home at auction.

Mr. Estrada said that his 6-year-old daughter had come home with a sheet of paper with all of her friends’ names on it. She told him that these were the people who would miss her because she was going to have to move away. He responded: “I don’t care if I have to live in a van. You’re still going to be able to go to this school.”

As Mr. Estrada told his story, he had tears in his eyes. I did too. And I still think about his story because it’s a powerful reminder of what housing means.

Housing is not just the biggest expense for most American families — or the biggest purchase most Americans will make in their lifetimes. It affects the jobs you can get, the schools your children can go to and the kinds of communities you can live in. That’s why it’s so important that government gets housing policy right.

But government hasn’t done enough to tackle our housing problems over the past few decades. The federal government has reduced investments in housing for middle-class and lower-income families even as rents continue to rise. That’s why I’ve announced a new plan to tackle our housing crisis and provide relief to families in Nevada and across the country.

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Some Nevadans say they're worried about the direction government is taking under Trump. Hundreds met for the Democratic Convention in Reno.
Marcella Corona, Reno Gazette Journal

My housing plan attacks the growing cost of rent by addressing the root cause of the problem: a serious lack of affordable housing supply. Nevada is in the midst of a severe housing shortage, driven by a rush of people moving into the state looking for jobs. Available housing in Washoe County is especially sparse. Between the arrival of Tesla’s Gigafactory and Apple’s Northern Nevada Data Center, the vacancy rate in Reno-Sparks is just 1.58 percent — compared to the national rate of 6.6 percent. Some experts have estimated that it would take 100,000 units to fill Nevada’s housing gap in the short term.

It’s no surprise then that housing prices in Nevada have skyrocketed. Nevada is now the state with the fewest number of affordable units for low-income renters. Over 116,000 households across the state pay more than half of their monthly income on rent, and those who cannot afford these rates are pushed into motels and shelters. In Reno, the median price of a single-family home increased by 14 percent in one year.

My plan brings down rents by investing $500 billion over the next 10 years to build, preserve and rehabilitate units that will be affordable to lower-income families. By building millions of new units across the country, including in Washoe County, my plan will reduce the cost of rent for everyone. An independent analysis found that my plan would reduce rental costs by 10 percent over the next t10 years. And because my plan invests in housing construction and rehabilitation, it would create 1.5 million new jobs.

Democratic United States Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts looks out a window with some of her grandchildren after arriving to Everett Mills where she will announce her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in Lawrence, Mass. on Feb. 9, 2019. Cj Gunther, EPA-EFE

Democratic United States Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts arrives with her husband Bruce Mann to Everett Mills where she will announce her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in Lawrence, Mass. on Feb. 9, 2019. Cj Gunther, EPA-EFE

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to guests during an organizing event at the Orpheum Theater on Jan. 5, 2019 in Sioux City, Iowa. Warren announced on December 31 that she was forming an exploratory committee for the 2020 presidential race. Scott Olson, Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to the overflow crowd during an event on her first trip through Iowa as a possible 2020 presidential candidate on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, in Council Bluffs. Brian Powers, The Register via USA TODAY Network

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during an event on her first trip through Iowa as a possible 2020 presidential candidate on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, in Council Bluffs. Brian Powers, The Register via USA TODAY Network

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), addresses the media outside of her home after announcing she formed an exploratory committee for a 2020 Presidential run on Dece. 31, 2018 in Cambridge, Mass. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), addresses the media outside of her home in Cambridge, Mass. She is one of the earliest potential candidates to make an official announcement in what is expected to be a very large Democratic field. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) took the first major step toward launching a widely anticipated campaign for the presidency, hoping her reputation as a populist fighter can help her navigate a Democratic field that could include nearly two dozen candidates. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), her husband Bruce Mann and their dog Bailey walk back to their home after Warren addressed the media following her announcement that she formed an exploratory committee for a 2020 Presidential run. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

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My bill also makes additional targeted investments in communities that desperately need it. It invests half a billion dollars in rural housing programs. It invests $2.5 billion in the Indian Housing Block Grant and the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant to build or rehab 200,000 homes on tribal land. And it invests $4 billion in a new Middle-Class Housing Emergency Fund, which will support the construction of new housing catering to middle-class renters in communities with severe housing supply shortages.

We could pay for all of this by returning the estate tax thresholds to where they were during the George W. Bush administration, and raising the rates above those thresholds so that ultra-millionaires and billionaires pay a larger share. These changes would only affect 14,000 of the wealthiest families in the country each year.

Think about that: By asking 14,000 wealthy families a year to pay a bit more, we can reduce rents by 10 percent for millions of families and create 1.5 million good new jobs.

We’re not going to solve our housing crisis by nibbling at the edges. We need to tackle it head-on — with big, comprehensive solutions that match the size of the problems we have. That’s what my housing plan for America does, and enacting this plan will be a top priority of my administration — because every American deserves a safe, decent and affordable place to live.

Elizabeth Warren represents Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate and is running for the Democratic presidential nomination.